​We couldn't be more excited about placing the equipment order for Phase 1 of our Be the Change in Chandler Playground Project. It will arrive by the end of the month, and we're planning a build day for this spring (details to come).
Chandler Town Park has already gotten a facelift with some fresh pavement on the old tennis court area in preparation of the playground project, and we've contracted to have the new 4-foot fencing installed.
A huge thank you to all of the people, businesses, organizations, and grant programs that allowed us to get Phase 1 funded: Wessler Engineering, Sensus USA, Metzger Construction, Chandler Park Board, Utility Supply Company, Hi-Tech Sheet Metal, Layne Christnesen Company, BLN, Brenntag, Chandler Ministerial Alliance, Moony's Mehndi, LNB Community Bank - Chandler Branch, Gammon Truck Sales, Perfection Driveline, Chandler Kiwanis, Elliott's Excavating, UMWA Local #1397, Fisher Family Tribute Fund, Christian Science Irrevocable Trust, El Maguey, Boonville Wal-Mart, Marlin Weisheit, Jessica Franck, Gary Stephenson, Rhonda Healy, Joan Parker, and everyone who purchased tees and cinnamon rolls, and/or dropped spare change in one of our collection jars. Small/miscellaneous donations accounted for more than 10% of our total fundraising efforts for this project!
We kicked off a #GivingTuesday campaign to help get the ball rolling on Phase 2 of the project, which will provide six new swings for older children - two of which will be high-back accessible seats. Between that effort and our Breakfast with Santa event, we're happy to report we've almost raised the first 10% of the $33,000 needed to purchase a new three-bay swingset for the Town Park!
If you're interested in getting in on end-of-the-year giving to help us push forward with Phase 2, now is the time! You can do that through PayPal directly, or through the Donate button below. Regardless of the amount, you can make a difference and #BetterChandler with your tax-deductible donation!

Join us for a fun event that will help raise funds for our Be the Change in Chandler Playground Project! All-you-can-eat pancakes professionally prepared by the Chandler Kiwanis Club, one meat, and one drink are included in the $5 advanced-purchase admission for adults ($6 at the door). Children (12 & under) can enjoy all-you-can-eat pancakes, kids activities and a 5x7 photo with Santa for just $1 advanced-purchase admission ($2 at the door)! There will be a silent auction of themed baskets ready for gift-giving.

If you pre-ordered a pan (or four - no judgment here!) of cinnamon rolls at one of our previous events, don't forget to come pick them up tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 22, at Faith Free Will Baptist Church - 303 N. Fifth Street, Chandler, IN 47610 - between 8 a.m. and noon.

If you forgot to pre-order and you wake up tomorrow and don't feel like cooking breakfast, stop by and we'll have a limited number of extra pans available for purchase on a first-come, first served basis. They are $8 per pan or $15 for two pans.

Rolls come already prepared (baked and iced) and can be eaten immediately or frozen for later consumption - you'll want to wrap well in foil and plastic wrap before freezing.

CHANDLER, IN – Thanks to record participation and help from several local businesses and organizations, the Chandler 8K raised $2,000 for new playground equipment at the Chandler Town Park.

The benefit 8K and Mile Walk was held on Oct. 8, a joint effort by 4 A Better Chandler, Inc. and Faith Free Will Baptist Church.

“It was great to have so many people from our community join us to get active and support this great cause,” said Daniel Edwards, Vice President of 4 A Better Chandler, and pastor at Faith Free Will Baptist Church. “From the runners and walkers to the volunteers and Chandler Police and Chandler Volunteer Fire Department, this was a group effort and wouldn’t have been possible without everyone’s contribution.”

The event was previously held in conjunction with Chandler Celebration Days, but organizers said there hadn’t been much growth in the past couple of years, presumably because it coincided with training for the Evansville Half-Marathon.

“Faith church was excited to organize this event once again, and partnering with 4 A Better Chandler made it that much better,” said Edwards. “With this partnership and the new later date, we are eager to see how the event will continue to grow.”

This year’s 8K brought a record registration number of 56 participants.

Top overall male and female in the 8K were Aleksey Klenck, Evansville, 31:56; and Elizabeth Morgan, Evansville, 36:52. Andy Carroll of Chandler finished in second place overall with a time of 36:45. The top finisher in the 1 Mile walk was Tina Crider, Chandler, 15:38. More race results can be found here.

“Each year, we hope to put on a well organized event that runners will enjoy and tell their friends about,” said Edwards. “The feedback from runners who have returned year after year has been really great.”

Pairing the high number of registrations with sponsorships from Chandler Kiwanis, UMWA Local #1397, Elliott’s Excavating, Perfection Driveline, Gammon Truck Sales, LNB Community Bank - Chandler Branch, and Moony’s Mehndi, the Chandler 8K was also a successful fundraiser.

4 A Better Chandler has been raising money since June to build the first phase of a new, inclusive playground for children of all ages. The organization has raised almost half of the $50,000 needed to complete Phase I, which includes equipment for children ages 2-5, and a pair of swings for infants and toddlers.

One week after the Evansville Half-Marathon, enjoy a challenging course through the rolling countryside north of Chandler! Our Chandler 8K includes a run, 1-mile walk, and Kids' Dash, with all proceeds benefiting our Be the Change in Chandler Playground Project.

Shirt:Every participant will receive a commemorative race shirt. Registrations received after 9/25 cannot be guaranteed a t-shirt.

Race Bag:The First 100 participants to sign up will receive a commemorative nylon drawstring bag.

Awards:Awards will be given to men and women who finish the 8K 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place over all and in the following age categories: Under 14, 15-19, 20-25, 26-32, 33-39, 40-45, 46-52, 53-65, 65+1st place awards given to the top male and female in the Mile walk as well.

Teams:Get 10 people together to form a team, and we'll put your team's name on your shirts! (Must be registered by 9/25)Team members can participate in whichever race they choose: the 8K or the 1-Mile Walk, so this is something everyone in your group can be a part of to raise funds for the new playground together!Teams with the most members and the with the most raised funds will be recognized with signage along both courses AND will receive a complimentary delivery of coffee & Wary's Famous Cinnamon Rolls the week following the race!

Our LOVE Chandler Day is a day of service to our community, and we're inviting churches, organizations, and individuals who want to make a difference to join us for clean-up along our main corridors in town.

Chandler Celebration Days is a town-wide celebration and a long-standing event hosted by the Lions Club of Chandler. We were excited to join their efforts last year with our first Talent Show, and it was so successful that we had kids asking how to get signed up for this year before the other event concluded. Our registration information for this event will be posted later this week.

Chandler Fest is the best of two great events we held last year - enjoy a free movie and a concert, food, fun, and more!

The Chandler 8K was an existing event that was previously tied to the Celebration Days activities. Organizers decided to move the event this year in hopes of gaining more participation since the later date would allow Evansville half-marathoners the chance to enter without interfering with their training schedule. Proceeds from the 8K run and 1-mile walk will benefit our playground project, so we are excited to partner with Faith FWB Church to host this event.

We are working to raise $50,000 to help fund new playground equipment at the Chandler Town Park.

​Phase 1 of our Be the Change in Chandler Playground Project creates a new play space for children ages 2-5. This playground utilizes universal design concepts to provide an inclusive play experience for children of all abilities.

Phase 1 includes:

Equipment offering 16 different developmentally-appropriate challenges for toddlers and preschoolers

Swingset with two full bucket seats

New fencing enclosure

New low-maintenance rubberized safety surfacing

Adjacent seating for caregivers

Upgrades to existing infrastructure providing an accessible entryway to the playground area

Play is a crucial part of early childhood development, providing opportunities for problem solving, concentration, and social learning experiences. Unfortunately, this site currently has no playground equipment for this age group, limiting the opportunities for families with young children in our neighborhoods to benefit from this type of play.

Beyond the playground, this project will provide an additional freshly-paved area for the Chandler Parks Board to utilize in other ways for recreation. The board has discussed creating a tricycle/walking path, installing a small basketball goal for younger children, and painting playground games like hopscotch and four square in this area. This resurfacing project is included in the overall cost of the playground, but funding has already been secured by the Parks Board for this improvement.

To help raise the additional money necessary to build this new playground, 4 A Better Chandler, Inc. has come up with several fundraisers. First, you may have noticed we've added a T-shirt Shop to our website; there are a couple of designs already available, with more to come in the future. We are also holding a crowdfunding campaign on Generoisty, with exclusive incentives for different levels of support to be announced soon.

Other ways you can help (and many of you already have - thanks!) are by dropping your extra change in one of our jars at these local businesses: Casey's General Store - Chandler location, Guthrie's Pharmacy, LNB Community Bank - Chandler Branch, Kemper's Market, El Maguey in Boonville, and Chandler Utilities Maintenance Facility; by making a direct donation through our PayPal link (every donation counts!); by using our Amazon Smile link when you shop on Amazon; and simply by helping us to spread the word about our project to others.